Serena Williams

Former world No.1 John McEnroe has said he is fearful that Nick Kyrgios could throw away his career if he doesn’t get the right help to change his ways.

The 59-year-old believes Kyrgios is currently on the path to ruining his career. The Australian has been marred by controversy throughout his career with allegations of tanking matches and unsportsmanlike conduct. At the end of 2016 he was briefly suspended from the ATP Tour for his behaviour during the Shanghai Masters. Kyrgios’ most recent incident occurred during October in Shanghai, where he engaged in an argument with the umpire after the official said his effort in the first round match was ‘borderline.’

“He’s going to run himself out of the game at this point, which I don’t want to see. But that’s what’s going to happen. It’s as clear as day,” McEnroe told the Nine Network’s 60 Minutes program.

Like Kyrgios, McEnroe was also a fiery figure on the court when he was a player. The American is remembered best for his outburst at Wimbledon when he said shouted ‘You cannot be serious’ in anger following a call.

The two figures have worked together during the Laver Cup over the past two years with McEnroe being the captain of Team World. The American has described the 23-year-old as ‘the most talented player’ of the past decade. So far in his career, Kyrgios has won four ATP titles and peaked at a ranking high of 13th in the world.

“I like him a lot. I think he’s a great kid and actually I think he’s the most talented tennis player that I’ve seen in 10 years,” said McEnroe.“The difference between Nick and I at the moment is I tried all the time. He doesn’t, for whatever reason. I’m not Sigmund Freud. I wish I was because I like Nick and he’d be good for the sport [if he fully committed]. Obviously it would be good for him. That goes without saying. I think Nick’s a really nice kid.”

Earlier this month, Kyrgios confirmed that he was seeing psychologists to help him ‘get on top of his mental health.’ During an interview with The Canberra Times, he admitted that he had left it too long to get help.

Kyrgios is set to kick-off his 2019 season at the Brisbane International, which will get underway during the first week in January.

Naomi Osaka’s triumph at the US Open will be remembered as a historic accomplishment, but the focus remains on the shocking events that took place during her clash with Serena Williams.

On Sunday night, an extraordinary argument between Williams and the umpire, Carlos Ramos, resulted in her being slammed with a game penalty during the second set. The confrontation started when Williams was issued with a warning for coaching. Prompting her to approach the chair and state that she was doing no such action. Her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, later admitted that he was coaching in the stands, but not directly at his player. Following on from that, the former world No.1 got a second warning and a point penalty after smashing her racket. Then uproar erupted in New York when Williams called Ramos a ‘liar’ and subsequently got docked an entire game. An action Williams believes was triggered by sexism.

“I’ve seen other men call other umpires several things,” she said. “I’m here fighting for women’s rights and for women’s equality and for all kinds of stuff. For me to say ‘thief,’ and for him to take a game, it made me feel like it was a sexist remark. He’s never taken a game from a man because they said ‘thief’.” Williams said during her press conference.“For me, it blows my mind, But I’m going to continue to fight for women.”

Scientists have developed new technology that could be key to preventing injuries to elite tennis players.

Work by Coventry University researchers, using a new type of motion capture technology sensor and their own software, is giving players a greater insight into how they move and the effect of their game on their bodies.

The unique combination of the two types of technologies gives extensive 3D detail for the first time about how people play tennis, right down to the angle of individual joints, the paths of their bodies and even the force exerted on their skeletons.

Many of the world’s top players, who will be on court at Wimbledon in the next two weeks, have previously battled or are currently recovering from long-term injuries. Andy Murray withdrew from the tournament just yesterday saying it was still too soon for him to play five-set matches after his return from the hip injury that kept him out of the game for nearly year.

But this new technology could help reduce and prevent injuries among elite players, say tennis coaches.

Motion capture technology is commonly used by Hollywood film-makers but the scientists are using it to provide information to players and coaches which was previously unavailable.

The university researchers’ sensors mean for the first time motion-capture can be moved from the laboratory or studio environment and onto the tennis court.

Players wear a special suit containing 17 sensors, which capture detailed data and transmit it to a computer.

This information is used to animate a 3D moving avatar of the player, their skeleton, joints and more than 600 of their muscles, as well as the movement of the ball and racquet.

It can give a range of information from the speeds of parts of the player’s body and the racquet, the weight placed on muscles and joints, and the sequence of movement the person goes through as they hit a ball.

It is all done through BoB – a computer programme developed by Coventry University – which can record far more detail than the naked eye can pick up and which also analyses the data.

Because of the extent of the information recorded and the fact it is in 3D, and not the traditional 2D, coaches get a far greater understanding of how the player moves, how the game affects their body and how their movement impacts on their game.

They can then encourage the player to make adjustments in specific areas and record how that effects their game as well as showing them how it could help avoid injury.

It also enables the coaches to quantitatively compare the movement of players of differing abilities so one can learn from the other.

And players can also store a record of their action in the event of injury or a decline in performance.

The team have already started using the equipment with coaches at Edgbaston Priory Tennis Club in Birmingham, home to the Nature Valley Classic WTA tennis tournament which attracts some of the biggest names in women’s tennis every June, and Bromsgrove Tennis Club, in the West Midlands.

James Griffiths, head coach at Bromsgrove Tennis Club, said: “This could be really valuable to elite players in terms of injury prevention.

“It gives us the evidence to show players exactly what is happening to their bodies when they are on court.

“The 3D video really highlights to the players what loads they are placing on different muscles. It means they can maximise their bodies, using all their muscles. We can see if they are not using their bodies efficiently and if they are at risk of injury. It’s far better than what I get from watching them with my naked eye.

“Biomechanics work like this is being used more and more in tennis, from elite players right down to seven and eight year old juniors. Technique is everything nowadays and technologies like this are the future for the sport.”

The academics hope to work with more tennis clubs, coaches, players and the Lawn Tennis Association so their work can benefit them more widely, as well as contribute to future research projects on the sport.

Dr James Shippen, an expert in biomechanics at Coventry University’s Institute for Future Transport and Cities, who is the developer of the software, said:

“This is the first time we have been able to use motion capture on the tennis court in a situation realistic to a tennis match. It gives a whole new world of opportunities for analysing how people play tennis.

“Tennis coaches have always had to rely on their eye and experience to improve a player’s performance, but this gives them the evidence needed to understand how a player moves and how that might need to change. This gets right down to the detail of every muscle and joint used by the player. There’s nothing else like that out there.

“We’ve had excellent feedback so far and are keen to work with players and coaches to see how they can make use of this new technology.”

The world of professional tennis has had a rough 2016. Some of the world’s top players failed to compete in the season-ending championships, Maria Sharapova was busted for consumption of a banned substance, and rumours of rampant match fixing left a sour lining on the year. After a year full of negativity, the tennis world is looking forward to a new and improved 2017. Here are some of the top headlines to watch for this coming season:

Serena Williams and a Grand Slam Record

Serena Williams is just one Grand Slam short of breaking Steffi Graf’s record for most career Grand Slams. After losing her world number one ranking in 2016 and pulling out of the World Championships in November, Serena should be feeling refreshed and hungry to tackle the challenge

Novak Djokovic & Coaching Situation

Novak Djokovic ended an extremely successful year with a shocking announcement that he and coach Boris Becker would be parting ways. The tennis world will be wondering how Djoker will maintain his level without a coach and we will be looking for an announcement regarding his new team.

Health of Rafa & Roger

Both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were plagued with injuries throughout 2016. They both missed the US Open last fall due to injury and did not compete in the World Championships. Tennis enthusiasts will be gauging their health and fitness levels during the year’s first slam (Australian Open) this and making predictions for the remainder of the season. In 2016, Nadal did not compete in the French Open or Wimbledon, but he did win the Doubles Gold at the Rio Olympics and the 28th Masters in Monte Carlo. Federer ended his run of 65 consecutive entries in a Grand Slam tournament when he also withdrew from the French Open. He then competed at Wimbledon, before he announced he was going to miss the Rio Olympics and the remainder of the season in July.

Nick Kyrgios’ Attitude

Kyrgios has been dubbed the tennis bad boy after several unfortunate altercations with chair officials, the tanking of his match against journeyman Mischa Zverev, and viral videos of his verbal abuse of fans. The young Australian was also fined by the ATP and asked to see a sports psychologist as part of the punishment. All eyes will be on the young Aussie and whether or not his time away from tennis has had any impact on his attitude.

Kerber as World #1

Fans and critics will be curious to see if Angelique Kerber can defend her Australian Open title and maintain her world number one ranking in 2017. With Serena back in the picture and other young players climbing the ladder all eyes will be on the young German. The world will be anxious to see how she handles the pressure and expectations of the number one ranking.

Azarenka’s Return to Tour

Tennis fans will also be looking for an announcement from former world number one, Victoria Azarenka. Azarenka announced last summer that she is expecting her first child but plans to return to tennis after the birth. Critics will be looking for her return and gauging whether or not she can return to the top of the WTA rankings.

These are just a few of the most exciting professional tennis headlines to watch for in 2017. Tennis enthusiasts are looking forward to an exciting and healthy year for all of the top players. Cheers to another exciting year!

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